Tuesday, February 7, 7:00 pm
Gael McCarte, author of The Con
Eagle Eye Books
2076 North Decatur Road
Decatur, GA

Working with the Justice Department in Perth, Australia, Gail Buesnel instigated a program titled Justice Through Art. The program assisted released offenders to continue their art with the same teacher, using the same techniques. It was designed to be an independence maker, or even a wealth creator for the artists. The Family Court in Perth displayed the paintings in its public areas for weeks. It was the first time the two arms of Justice had ever cooperated on any endeavor.

That program was fictionalized in the book, The Con, as an overall business program that allows a fictionalized artistic offender to open a tattoo parlor in the Peel area which he named “The Con Artist”. The Con begins with a chat between Anna Lennox, psychologist from the department, and her youngest son, Lachie. It wanders in and out of the cities and the Australian bush, the criminal mind and family life in Western Australia. It ends with a twist that leaves the reader saying, “aaahhh, she got me”—and the reader will be smiling.

Gail has many interests. Describing herself as a political junkie, she blogs, writes for an ezine, and dives in and out of genealogy and business. Her first novel was published December 2010. The sequel is almost finished, and she has written another steampunk lite novel loosely based on her Scottish ancestors in the 1850’s. It’s ready to go with two sequels planned. She is an award winning blogger. She has often spoken at seminars on a variety of topics. Wife, mother of three, she has lived in Australia, England and the US and has traveled extensively here and abroad. She is a story teller and uses humor and whimsy to lighten the drama of her tales.

Gael writes under the name Gael McCarte to honor her Scots Irish father. Her advice to writers is simple: “Write.” We’ll hear her expand on that advice Tuesday night.

Tuesday, March 6

Tuesday, April 3

Tuesday, May 1

Tuesday, June 5

The first VWG anthology is out now, and will be on sale for $10.00 at monthly meetings and the AJC Decatur Book Festival. You can also order it on-line at LovesLostandFound.webs.com. The book is entitled
Loves Lost and Found,
or, Love is where you find it.

Lynn Hesse and Sally Matthews joined Tony Miller on the selection panel; none of the three had made a submission, so there was no conflict of interest. The panel picked the following entries:

Short Stories
"Big Box" by Cecilia Dominic
"Leslie's Last Concubine" by Kenneth Allen
"A Luscious Epiphany" by Kaye D. Schmitz
"When the Hurleyburley's Done" by Susan Crawford
"Family Defined" and "Where Furniture Goes to Die" by Cheryl Hart Snapperman

Poems
"Room with One Window" by Aaron Bean
"Rooms" and "Wars" by Susan Crawford

The cover picture is the gift to VWG of Mary Frances, both author and artist, and a past member. It shows a chair that appears in both of Cheryl Snapperman's stories as a supporting character.

Congratulations to the chosen authors, and thanks to all who submitted.

--Anthony Miller
Chairman, Village Writers Group